I was in the same situation for a long time. My wife just couldn't live with shelling out the money for an ATV. Then we had a welder at work that would not work quite right and the welding shops could not find the problem. After it was pushed aside for a couple of years, I offered to buy it for $25.00. They sold it to me, and with $175.00 invested had a welder worth $1800.00 That is what I traded to the local Honda shop when they needed a welder that would handle aluminum tube frames. I still had to pay some cash, but it didn't hurt as much and the wife didn't mind.

That's called "creative financing"! Many of us could do something similar, but we limit our thinking.

I have a 350 Honda Rancher (full time 4x4), bought new in 2004. Great, reliable machine. Little hard steering since it is full-time 4x4, but not a major bother. One son has a 2007 250 Kawasaki 2x4 and I'm amazed at how it does the job nicely for him. Hauls him and his gear in and out and frequently drags along a nice deer. Other son uses an older Yamaha 350 2x4 and won't think about replacing it. We hunt pretty mountainous terrain in West Virginia, and these machinces have worked well for us.